The Biggest Problem & The Simple Solution: Generating Leads

The Biggest Problem & The Simple Solution: Generating Leads

All businesses, regardless of size, scale, or industry, survive on sales. Without a constant, consistent exchange of goods or services rendered, the business is considered a failure. Now, sales are simply Converted Leads: people who are drawn to your business or who stumble upon your business by accident. When they decide to buy something, they are converted from a Potential Customer to an Actual Consumer. They went from becoming a Lead to becoming a Sale.

So what is the Biggest Problem I see with most business owners? They don’t have enough leads. You need leads to make a sale, and most business owners don’t have enough of the former to generate the latter.

Where does that leave you? Inconsistent. Roller-coaster finances. One month you’re in Feast, the next month, you’re in Famine, and every day you wake up wondering, “Where will I find new people? Where do I get more leads?” You wish you could take time off from your business, you wish it would just grow without you, but it’s not happening. And it’s not going to happen if 90% of your time is spent chasing down more leads to get more business.

BIG SECRET: The Simple Solution

Here’s the thing; this “Simple Solution” is not a secret. It’s not even something new or revolutionary. It’s been around for a very long time—probably hundreds of years now. It’s old, but it’s time-tested and proven. Believe me; this system works. And it consists of three very simple steps:

MEDIA → ADS → RELATIONSHIP

Use relevant media to get ATTENTION. Once you have their attention, use relevant ads to generate CURIOSITY. Once they’re engaged, NURTURE them to build a relationship.

And that’s it. You have a lead.

Here’s how it works:

MEDIA – Content That Grabs Attention

Media has been around for as long as people have needed entertainment. Newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, books … media generates content that is meant to grab the audience’s attention. You need to build your own content and media machine—that’s an imperative part of being in business in 2018. You cannot afford to not take advantage of the biggest opportunity presented in the 21st century: Social Media.

If you want to be discovered by potential customers, consumers, and referrers, you need to use Social Media. It may seem intimidating, but approach it like it’s a newspaper or magazine; it’s a platform for you to publicize your content. The best part? It’s available for any form of content you prefer. Regardless of whether you like writing, shooting videos, or creating audio, you have a social media platform to publish it on. Host your videos on YouTube, share your blogs through Facebook or Twitter, upload your audio via a podcast.

Content creation must be a priority. You can’t be a best-kept secret anymore. Nobody knows you, but we thankfully live in this world where we have the unlimited ability to reach as many people as we want through good media. Take advantage of that ability.

By the by, there are more than just three forms of content creation—there are actually 7:

TEACH—share knowledge, impart wisdom, explain from experience

INTERVIEW—allows your audience to learn through an intelligent an entertaining dialogue

RESEARCH—do the hard work for your target market, and then organize the results and findings

MOTIVATION/INSPIRATION—encourage your market to do better, achieve what they want

CASE STUDIES—show your audience that what they want is possible by showcasing the experience/journey/victory of another

SOAP OPERA—witty, dramatic, or silly retelling of a story meant to inspire

ADS – Relevant Advertisements That Create Curiosity

After ATTENTION comes CURIOSITY. Now that people have noticed you, showing them an ad can get them curious as to what you actually do and what solution you actually offer. You can’t put the AD before the MEDIA—that’s not how this works. People will ignore ads if it has nothing to do with them. There is an oversaturation, and the odds of your ad standing out without prior context are zero. Get their attention first before you show them an ad.

As such, you must have a good balance between Media and Ads. Think about television programs or radio shows. For every 30-minute show, you get about three or four ad-breaks. Ergo, you can afford to insert an ad every 8 to 10 minutes of good content. This doesn’t have to be done in one sitting. For example:

RELATIONSHIP – Build A Connection From The Curiosity, And Then Nurture It

Once they’re curious, you can let them know what you actually do as a business and how you can help them. It’s important that at this point, you treat them as actual human beings, not just another number for your progress sheet. You need to properly nurture your relationship with them if you want them to stay.

I get it; not every relationship is equal. There are some high-quality leads that you love talking to, there are some that you don’t. That’s alright, because you just have to make sure that they stick around. This is how you avoid entering Feast-Famine mode. Make sure that the leads you create stay with you.

They may not buy the 1st time. Heck, they might not even buy during the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time around. But if they’re on your email list, they’ve subscribed to your YouTube channel, they follow you on Facebook, or they actively engage on your social media, they are a solid lead. Two, three years down the road, they may buy from you. I have people on my list who have never bought anything from me, and yet they share my content like crazy. They refer people to me. I get new, constant business from these people who have never bought from me because I nurture my relationship with them.

Remember: you have the ability to build your own Leads Machine following this simple 3-Step System that’s been around for one, two hundred years now: create Relevant Media, generate Relevant Ads, and then Build and Nurture a Relationship.